Okra gets a bad rap. It’s usually cooked beyond dead, and the result is a mucilaginous mess. When I lived in Texas and North Carolina, I developed a taste for okra in its many forms: Fried, pickled, in gumbos, and stir-fried. The latter is what I did for dinner tonight, as a Cajun dish called …
Category: Food
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/02/okra-on-the-menu/
Aug 01
Yakima Apricots
Not only does the Yakima area grow good peaches, its apricots are awesome. Alas, the season is coming to an end. I bought a bunch of them today at the fruit stand for our regular potluck with friends. I poached them in sweet white wine, and received rave reviews. This is what I did: Open …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/01/yakima-apricots/
Aug 01
The Annual Question
It has been the hottest June and July on record in western Washington, and among the driest. Yet the same annual lament arises from gardeners from Longview to Lynden: “When are my *^#$ing tomatoes going to ripen?!?” When we lived in Seattle, only a patch of the front yard got much direct sunlight. Most of …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/08/01/the-annual-question/
Jul 25
Diets to Live By
Every so often I’m asked by people who know my nutrition background, “What diet should I be on?” Some are fishing for validation of how they’re currently eating; others want to pick a fight about the virtues of gluten-free, Paleo or Atkins diets. Then there are folks who’ve been told they have to clean up …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/25/diets-to-live-by/
Jul 18
An American’s Take on the French Paradox
We ate and drank very well while we were in France. Yet neither of us gained any weight while we were on the trip. How’d we manage that? We did do a lot of walking around Paris and southern France, sure. However, I think a bigger reason was the concept of assez (enough); in other …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/18/an-americans-take-on-the-french-paradox/
Jul 04
Yippee for Yakima Peaches!
The first Yakima peaches have arrived at the fruit stand around the corner from our home. They beat by a mile the glorified bocce balls that get trucked here from California–and are cheaper. I vetoed buying some organic peaches that were on sale yesterday because they were unripe, rock-hard, and non-peachy-smelling. No amount of time …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/04/yippee-for-yakima-peaches/
Jul 02
In Defense of Himalayan Blackberries
Himalayan blackberries are invasive in the Seattle area. The canes seem to sprout out of nowhere and grow almost as fast as kudzu in the Carolinas. Not only do they grow fast, they bear mass quantities of fruit from July to October. Birds consume the berries and spread the seeds in their waste, which produce …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/07/02/in-defense-of-himalayan-blackberries/
Jun 24
Salade Compostée
Last night I tried a duck gizzard salad that Julian had found on the web. It’s a rather involved recipe for a weeknight. First you blanch julienned carrots and marinate them in a red wine vinegar brine. Then you sauté some leeks. Following that, you make a vinaigrette with pears. You wash some greens and …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/24/salade-compostee/
Jun 20
Saturday in Bellevue
Bellevue is the second largest city in King County after Seattle. The downtown area reminds us of Dallas, only with better weather. Conspicuous consumption is rampant. We had to return an item to the Sur La Table store, in a shopping center called the Bravern. A Ferrari and a Bentley were parked at the entrance. …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/20/saturday-in-bellevue/
Jun 19
Final Stop
The last two days of our trip were spent in Lyon, the third largest city in France. Unlike the bastides, the architecture of Lyon dates to the Renaissance and later. Unlike in Paris, more modern skyscrapers have encroached closer to the center city. However, it’s a vary charming town. We stayed in a hotel on …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/19/final-stop/
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